Storms sweep across the South, killing 6 and injuring dozens

Powerful storms swept across the South on Sunday after unleashing suspected tornadoes and flooding that killed at least six people - including three children - injured dozens and flattened much of a Texas town.

Nearly 90,000 customers were without power in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Georgia as of midday Sunday, according to www.poweroutage.us as the severe weather left a trail of destruction.

Two children were killed on a back road in East Texas when a pine tree fell onto the car in which they were riding in a severe thunderstorm Saturday near Pollok, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southeast of Dallas.

The tree "flattened the car like a pancake," said Capt. Alton Lenderman of the Angelina County Sheriff's Office. The children, ages 8 and 3, were dead at the scene, although both parents, who were in the front seat, escaped injury, he said.

At least 25 people were taken to hospitals for treatment after a suspected tornado struck the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site in East Texas during a Native American cultural event in Alto, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southeast of Dallas, said Police Chief Jeremy Jackson. At least eight were critically hurt.

There was widespread damage in Alto, a town of about 1,200, and the school district canceled classes until its buildings can be inspected to ensure they are safe.

A tornado flattened much of the south side of the Central Texas town of Franklin, overturning mobile homes and damaging other residences, said Robertson County Sheriff Gerald Yezak. Franklin is about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Dallas.

The weather service said preliminary information showed an EF-3 tornado touched down with winds of 140 mph (225.3 kph).

The tornado destroyed 55 homes, a church, four businesses, a duplex, and part of the...